Dear Johnson City District Family,
This is the time of year I see the value of the connection of the United Methodist Church more than any other. I wish everyone had the opportunity to attend Annual Conference at some point in their lives. It is at Annual Conference that we see the fruit of our conference mission initiatives.
One of the outpourings of grace that I've seen is that we have collected over 900 of the small prayer cloths that so many faithful people in the Johnson City District have produced. Every one of them has received a blessing and prayer. I can not wait to see our delegates to Annual Conference as they receive tangible reminders that our conference has been bathed in prayer.
This year, we will send school kits to Liberia. In the past three years, we have collected 800-900 food buckets every year. I have no doubt that our churches will be just as faithful in collecting school kits. If you want to participate in this hands-on mission project,
click here to learn how. Possibly the most exciting week of the year for me, Betty and Amber begins on June 1-3 when your churches will drop off the school kits. We are excited that this year we will be taking our own truck to the conference office loaded with kits. Therefore, we will not be as stressed to get the truck to it's next appointment. We would love to have any helpers we can find to help us load our truck on June 4th, beginning at 10:00 am.
Last but not least, this year's mission offering will go to projects within the bounds of the Holston Conference that focus on ministry to children and poverty. We have set a goal that every member in our churches will donate $10 to our mission offering and 10 hours of service to a local agency that focuses on ministry to children and poverty. If you can not think of a place to serve, why not consider Family Promise, Good Samaritan Ministries, our District's "Wonderfully Made" ministry to children with special needs, the Hispanic ministry at Unicoi UMC, Community Help Center, One Acre Cafe, one of your local food banks, Coalition for Kids, Boys and Girls Clubs, Appalachia Service Project...the list goes on and on.
Watch for updates on ways that God has blessed the people who live within the bounds of the Holston Conference by the people who call themselves United Methodists.
God Bless You,
Walter Weikel
In 2014, 70 year old Dave Smith hiked the 
